Red Maasai
Encyclopedia
The Red Maasai is a breed of sheep indigenous to East Africa
. True to its name, the breed is kept by the Maasai, though both pastoralists and smallholder farmers in Kenya
, Tanzania
, and Uganda
keep Red Maasai flocks.
The breed is a fat-tailed
hair sheep, meaning they do not produce wool
and are kept primarily for meat. Though less productive than some other breeds raised in East Africa, they are valued for their hardiness in arid
conditions and their relatively stronger resistance to internal parasites.
. Though traditional Maasai culture does place cattle
in higher prominence than small ruminants, many Maasai and smallholders in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have raised the breed.
The Red Maasai was the predominate sheep breed among the Maasai and other tribes in Kenya until the 1970s, when subsidies began to support crossbreeding with Dorper sheep and other imported types. Developed in South Africa, Dorpers began to be widely crossbred with native Kenyan stock. Today, fewer purebred Red Maasai sheep remain, and crossbreeds are the majority, making the future of the breed uncertain. Red Maasai have been studied for the use of cryopreservation
to retain their genetic resources in the face of crossbreeding.
. The breed is a hair sheep, meaning it does not produce wool
, though it may have a shaggy coat of hair. It is also a fat-tailed sheep breed known for visibly large fat deposits in its tail and hindquarters. Red Maasai are medium-to-large bodied sheep. All of these factors mean the Red Maasai is suited to meat production instead of fiber.
Red Maasai sheep are renowned for their resistance to parasites. In Africa, endoparasites in particular can cause large livestock losses, because smallholder farmers that also raise crops often rely on shared grazing land. Several peer-reviewed studies have shown that compared to introduced breeds such as the Dorper, Red Maasai are significantly more immune to parasites.
This resistance is potentially of great value to other sheep operations due to the significant financial losses caused by parasites in other sheep-producing regions. Consequently, scientists have focused on attempting to identify the genes responsible for internal parasite resistance in Red Maasai sheep.
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. True to its name, the breed is kept by the Maasai, though both pastoralists and smallholder farmers in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
keep Red Maasai flocks.
The breed is a fat-tailed
Fat-tailed sheep
The fat-tailed sheep is a general type of domestic sheep known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters. Fat-tailed sheep breeds comprise approximately 25% of the world sheep population, and are commonly found in northern parts of Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, North India, Western...
hair sheep, meaning they do not produce wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and are kept primarily for meat. Though less productive than some other breeds raised in East Africa, they are valued for their hardiness in arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
conditions and their relatively stronger resistance to internal parasites.
History
Though their exact origin is unclear, Red Maasai sheep are native to Kenya and have long been a part of the farming cultures of the Great Rift ValleyGreat Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
. Though traditional Maasai culture does place cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
in higher prominence than small ruminants, many Maasai and smallholders in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have raised the breed.
The Red Maasai was the predominate sheep breed among the Maasai and other tribes in Kenya until the 1970s, when subsidies began to support crossbreeding with Dorper sheep and other imported types. Developed in South Africa, Dorpers began to be widely crossbred with native Kenyan stock. Today, fewer purebred Red Maasai sheep remain, and crossbreeds are the majority, making the future of the breed uncertain. Red Maasai have been studied for the use of cryopreservation
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
to retain their genetic resources in the face of crossbreeding.
Characteristics
Red Maasai sheep are named for their usual color of red-brown, though they may also be piedPiebald
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a spotting pattern of large unpigmented, usually white, areas of hair, feathers, or scales and normally pigmented patches, generally black. The colour of the animal's skin underneath its coat is also pigmented under the dark patches and unpigmented under...
. The breed is a hair sheep, meaning it does not produce wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, though it may have a shaggy coat of hair. It is also a fat-tailed sheep breed known for visibly large fat deposits in its tail and hindquarters. Red Maasai are medium-to-large bodied sheep. All of these factors mean the Red Maasai is suited to meat production instead of fiber.
Red Maasai sheep are renowned for their resistance to parasites. In Africa, endoparasites in particular can cause large livestock losses, because smallholder farmers that also raise crops often rely on shared grazing land. Several peer-reviewed studies have shown that compared to introduced breeds such as the Dorper, Red Maasai are significantly more immune to parasites.
This resistance is potentially of great value to other sheep operations due to the significant financial losses caused by parasites in other sheep-producing regions. Consequently, scientists have focused on attempting to identify the genes responsible for internal parasite resistance in Red Maasai sheep.
External links
- African Genetic Treasures Key to Reducing Disease and Poverty, International Livestock Research InstituteInternational Livestock Research InstituteThe International Livestock Research Institute is an international agricultural research institute based in Nairobi, Kenya, and founded in 1994 by the merging of the International Livestock Centre for Africa and the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases...